Cebu prepares for APEC

CEBU, Philippines - The Province of Cebu has started creating its own committee as counterpart of the national organizing team in preparation for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit next year.

Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III said he will meet with Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama, Mayor Paz Radaza of Lapu-Lapu City, and Mayor Jonas Cortes of Mandaue City for the composition of the said committee.

The governor said he has initially convened some private and business sectors including hoteliers, representatives from the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Cebu Business Club, and Cebu City Tourism Commission.

Representing the provincial government, the Office of the Vice Governor and the Capitol’s tourism office will be taking part in the committee, Davide said.

“We should take advantage of this opportunity too that Cebu is the venue. Let us put our best foot forward. We have to go extra mile in receiving these delegates of the summit,” he added.

Representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs and national organizing committee under the Office of the President met Davide yesterday to be briefed on the updates of the preparation for the APEC Summit.

Ma. Angelina Sta. Catalina, deputy director general for Conference Management Services and former ambassador to Finland, was one of those who met the governor.

She announced that four of the 21 major meetings will be held in Cebu set on August to October next year.

The first one will be a three-week preparatory meeting in August 2015 for senior officials. The other three are ministerial meetings for APEC transportation, energy, and finance.

As to the venues of the meetings, Sta. Catalina said the team could not yet determine since they are still waiting for final instruction from the national government.

“We are going to hold it in different hotels here. It depends if the hotels have conference facilities. We are still looking at the possible venue of hotels. I can assure you that we are quite happy of the kind of facilities that are available here in Cebu,” she told reporters.

The series of meetings will be followed finally by the meeting of the heads of state towards the end of the year.

Philippines has been a member of APEC for the past 25 years. It first hosted the summit in 1996, said Sta. Catalina, adding that Cebu was chosen as host to several meetings because of its economic progress.

“Cebu is the second largest City in the Philippines. It has become a hub for development, for economic enterprise for the country. The main objective of APEC is really to enhance trade and economic integration within the region. We see Cebu as a prime mover in the country,” Sta. Catalina said. — (FREEMAN)